Design flaw

[geekraver]

One of the "joys" of living in Washington state is that summer starts on July 5th, often with a vengeance. The weekend of the 4th temperatures were in the 60's; on July 5th they hit the 80's and on the 6th went up to the 90's.

I hadn't picked up my YRG since last weekend. When I did I discovered two of the strings had come loose! I'm about to head out on vacation and was planning on taking the YRG with, so I decided that I would investigate myself even if I might void any warranty. I noticed the strings are just hooked on on the neck side and so I hooked them back and tightened the tension. They still didn't feel right and so I ended up removing the cover plate. Now I can see that the end of the other strings are bent into a small 'u' hook shape which keeps them in place, while the two that came loose are bent in an 'L' shape, and so they don't seat properly.

I suspect that the improper hook shape existed before hand (and may have had something to do with the issues I had with strings sounding when fingerpicking, especially the third string). That, combined with the heat making the strings stretch, caused them to come loose completely.

I'm going to attempt a fix but wanted to share this in case anyone else has the same problem.

[Matera the Mad]

Uh-oh. Quality control issue? Might be a good idea to check one's strings. Can they be re-bent a little?

[geekraver]

Yes, it turns out the L shaped ones look like they were U's. I rebent them and the guitar is working. I have a new theory as to what happened. The little switches that are attached to the strings rattle when picked on the EBGD strings on my guitar and don't on the low AE strings. This rattle sound makes it seem like they are under-tensioned but it is unrelated to the tension. Perhaps they were originally over-tensioned as a result? I don't think I over tensioned them because in fact when I got the guitar I loosened the tension a full turn at first, then retightened the same amount later, but I can't rule out having made a tensioning error. IN any event, it seems they must have been over-tensioned at some point causing the first bend of the U to straighten to an L; that combined with the heat and expansion caused them to come out completely.

Hopefully the re-bent strings will stay in place now. In any event, when adjusting string tension it may be a good idea to remove the string covers so you can see what you are doing more clearly.

[Matera the Mad]

Yes, we want to be careful -- don't need to lose strings to metal fatigue. Thanks for the good tips.

[MidiVox]

Hi All,
    I have not adjusted the tension on either of my 2 YRGs. We have been in 90 degree weather for a couple of months now in Texas. No string problems for me.
    Maybe the information on how the neck strings are attached including photos should be added to the owners manual pdf, if visually looking at the ends of the strings is not a job just for guitar techs.
Happy You Rock Guitars
Timothy Kelly
MidiVox

[Klepzig]

Yes, I would like to know what I should or shouldn't do.  If I have a problem with one of my strings, is it ok to try and fix it myself first by bending the string, or should I immediately ship it back to have it fixed by the manufacturer or some other solution?  Is there a limit to how much tinkering I should do?  For example, maybe it's okay to mess with the strings themselves since they are easy to replace, but once I would need to mess with the body to attempt a fix, I should instead send it to the manufacturer to get it fixed.

Any guidance?

[Matera the Mad]

Yeah, it is certainly not 8-yo territory, tho a 63-yo hackette fears (almost) nothing

[tuesday]

Rather than jumping right in and attempting a fix via physical modification yourself, it is always a good idea to first contact Inspired's support team. You can reach them at support@yourockguitar.com, and will shortly be contacted by a representative.

Again, I would steer clear of any direct manipulation of the YRG (unless directed to do so by a member of our staff) as it is quite possible that your tinkering might void the warranty.

[SVH]

Yeah the YRG team seems to be pretty on it of you open a support ticket

[Skyeline]

You shouldn't need to attempt to bend strings back into shape if they ever end up becoming deformed from the standard U shape. We'll provide a free set of 4 strings if one has broke, though subsequent strings will cost $4.99 for sets of 4.

If you have to go beyond simply changing strings out though, Tuesday pretty much got it spot on. Contact us before you open up your guitar or start messing with the pickups. Your warranty can be voided if you have opened up your guitar and messed around with it prior to contacting us.